The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-11-27
LETTER ADDRESSES.
Mysteriously Directed En-
velopes That Are Posted,
AND PUZZLE POSTAL CLERKS.
Professional People Among Those
Making Inexcusable Blundets-A
Total OF $4,000 a Year.

epistolary, the postal clerks of great
city are obliged to bring to bear daily
their powers of imagination and all
their skill, attained by months or years
OF dash-in- the-dark translation and
reconsideration of the hieroglyphical ink
marks that Uncle Sans mails poke
under their eyes as excuses for plain
English addresses. Many of the super
scriptions are but slightly more sugges-
tive of handwriting than the mud-tracks
of duck across a sheet of white paper.
Into a separate pile these scrawl-di-
rected letters and postal cards go, to-
gether with all the mail of the rs..class
misaddressed IN any way, the heap pre-
sen ting itself every morning as the
days task of set of disentangling and
deciphering. clerks. The lightning
hieroghypnists of city delivery superin-
tendent L. G. Kiernan's department
of the st. Louis postofice are j.
B. Patrick. Phil Mccoy. M. j.
Nash and Mr.. Zepp. The business Of
Mr.. Patrick. who is chief clerk, is to
straighten out the addresses of letters
intended for other cities, but misad
dressed to st. Louis, and he also
handles some unintelligibly-direc
letters that railroad postal service men
know will be sent to their owners by the
St. Louis postal clerks after few hours
study. A train hand hasn't time like a
postal clerk in st. Louis, to nail badly
directed letter to post, and study it
at distance of ten feet, six feet, Two
feet, six inches, and under a 1000 diam
eter lens if need be. The other day
Mr.. Patrick had a letter, upon which
there was nothing more than serpen-
tine trail of ink, stuck on the rim of his
desk all day. He took fresh run at
it after supper, and while dasbing for
ward made out an address, to which he
sent it, and the postmaster in interior
Missouri, who delivered it, reported
that the letter reached its owner, who
had beer inquiring for it for several
days.
FEW CASES IN POINT.
4 letter addressed MRS. l.. Tuning.
nine La mott, st. Louis, No." was de-
iivered o. K. to that woman at Mine
La Mott, Madison County, Mo. Mrs.
. ?. A. Humble, terre haute, 921 st. :"
was the address that carried another
letter to Terre Haute, after 1t had
strayed into the st. Louis Office. "Mess
SCudtt Bros was sent to SGudder
Brothers. and delivered all right. lice
Sing, main st near third, Lyans, Ians,"
puzzled Mr.. Patrick some, but that letter
was delivered to the right party at
Lyons, To-, where he sent it. Walnut
Ridge, Ark, miss S. E. Jipson," was in
tended for Miss Jefferson. The chiro-
graphy was SO bad that The only way to
Df ho
TO look at the original or picture of it.
s'Ohico cagar Co." was meant for
Ohio Cigar Company; "Dadd &
Darety" for Dodd q Dority; crtn AID"
for Easton avenue; ~. S. Co." for
United States Express Company.
What do you think of this one"
said Mr.. Patrick to a GJObe-DemOcrGt
reporter, party patcha arGanaY C. b.
harheVd id nat divrerd impdayes re-
tukn to matay caRpenteR." After much
study, that letter was sent to G. A.
Hubbard, Fort Apache, Ariz., the rest
OF the inscription being ''if not dellv-
cred in ten days, return to Matte Car
penter." Mr.. Hubbard was found and
claimed his letter. A letter addressed
to Mr.. Th Schneider, aKrafKa Lacke
Post Office, st. Louis, no." was sent to
and delivered at Creve C@ur, st. Louis
County, Mo. Another addressed to
"Louis A. Tirell, Barn Field, st. Louis,
was delivered at Bonfls Station, st.
Louis County. One that came for " Ms.
Louis Thieman Station, st. Louis in
Amerika," was delivered at Clayton, st.
Louis County.
Look at this one" said Mr.. Patrick.
diving after curiosity. "a VIZ bi Au-
gust Yeaksn No Bob To Levrr st.
Sweanis, Mo-" That was simple. 1t
was sent to August Jackson, 3O6 South
Leyee. The Bob" by hard study be-
came 1906" and the ITO" was easily
Ichanged to $50" for south. "Fitz ger
aid and Powell, Imdeaher, impless,"
was the address on letter for Fitzger-
aid g. Powell, Indianapolis. A letter
for "Mr. J. Il. Carington De Losonis
Mo-" went to De Lassus, Mo.
AN INTENTIONAL PUzzLER.
A letter addressed to John Webster,
Perciyal Grove, st. Louis, No., was a
puzzIer until Mr.. Zepp ingeniously
struck line across the address from
the left-hand upper corner to the lower
right-hand one, and it then read John
Percival, Webster Grove, st. Louis
{county), Mo-" Mr.. Percival was glad
to get his letter, and wondered what
had detained it.
"schuf Polls, in st. Louis, Mo, }" was
delivered to Chief of Police Ruebler.
HMr. Tusen & Sell, st. Louis, Mo-"
was written on q letter which was
CLAIMED by the Dobson & HiN Pickle
Company yesterday.
Yesterday a letter came into the
Office addressed to al. Fiddler, Ii
Barclay Street, st. Louis" There being
no such person or street in st. Louis,
the clerk looked in the New York
directory. and found that the only mis-
take in the address was in writing st.
Louis for New Yoik, but an error that
carried the letter many hundred miles
out of its course. Many of the letters
are addressed to the wrong city, and
probably the greatest blunderers
In addressing letters are Chicago
LAWYERS and New York bank clerks. A
great number of Kansas City and JET
ferson City letters come to 81. Louis
every day from banks, Law offices and
large business houses, because the
words ''St. LOUIS" are written upon The